Rahul Gandhi Wins Relief as Karnataka HC Dismisses BJP Defamation Case
Karnataka HC quashes defamation case against Rahul Gandhi over 2023 election ads accusing BJP of corruption.
In significant relief to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday quashed the criminal defamation proceedings initiated against him by the state unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over advertisements published during the 2023 Assembly elections campaign. The case pertained to the controversial “corruption rate card” ads that accused the BJP government of demanding commissions from contractors.
Justice Sunil Dutt Yadav, while allowing Gandhi’s petition, observed that continuing the proceedings would amount to an abuse of the process of law. The case had been pending before the Special Court designated for cases involving sitting and former MLAs and MPs. The detailed copy of the High Court’s order is awaited.
The advertisements, published on May 5, 2023, in several mainstream newspapers, were issued during the peak of the Karnataka Assembly election campaign. They carried the headline “Corruption Rate Card” and referred to the then BJP-led government as a “40 per cent Commission Sarkara,” alleging that contractors were forced to pay commissions of up to 40 per cent for public works.
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The BJP had filed a complaint not only against Rahul Gandhi but also against the Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC), Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar. The party contended that the advertisements contained false, reckless and defamatory allegations intended to damage its reputation during the elections.
In January 2025, the High Court had already granted interim relief by staying the proceedings before the Special Court. Rahul Gandhi had earlier appeared before the trial court in June 2024 in response to summons and was granted bail, while Siddaramaiah and Shivakumar had also secured bail in the matter.
With the High Court now quashing the proceedings, the Congress leader has secured a major legal victory. The ruling comes amid ongoing political tensions between the Congress and the BJP in Karnataka, where corruption allegations had been a central theme of the 2023 electoral battle.
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